18 Israeli soldiers wounded in Golan by drone fire

The Israeli army said on Sunday that 18 soldiers were wounded after a drone attack on their position in the occupied Golan Heights on the Lebanese border, one of them seriously.

The army said in a statement that the strike took place earlier on Sunday, adding that it has since struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon with warplanes and artillery.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted an Israeli military position in response to Israeli army strikes earlier on Sunday.

The Israeli army also said it struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past few hours, including operational sites in Markaba and a rocket launcher in Aita al-Shaab, which was used in an attack earlier on Sunday.

Since the Gaza war began on October 7, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the southern Lebanese border on an almost daily basis.

Tensions between the two sides have escalated in recent days as fears of a wider war that could ignite a regional conflict have grown.

The ongoing violence for more than 8 months between Hezbollah and the Israeli army has led to the deaths of at least 482 people in Lebanon, the majority of them Hezbollah fighters and 94 civilians, according to a tally prepared by "Agence France-Presse". On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.